


For the Sake of Our Stomachs

by ImaKaraTabiHe



Series: Speedster Family [8]
Category: Justice League - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Food, Grocery Shopping, Hyperactive Metabolism, Speedster Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 06:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6600598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaKaraTabiHe/pseuds/ImaKaraTabiHe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally's hungry.  Barry might be too.<br/>They need more food.  Grocery shopping is worth it.  Maybe?</p>
            </blockquote>





	For the Sake of Our Stomachs

Wally stretched, rubbing his eyes as some commercial about weight loss played on the TV. Gosh he was just so bored. Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry were still and work and it was a no-school day for him, so here he was. Bored.

“What better way to satisfy your stomach?” Wally's head snapped back to the TV. He swallowed, mouth watering. It was a commercial for pizza. So cheesy, so yummy looking.

_-Guuuu!-_

He frowned and rubbed his stomach. _Hungryyyy~_

“Wally, I'm home!”

Wally jumped off the couch and raced head first into his uncle, throwing his arms around him. Barry laughed softly. “Missed me?”

“Uncle Barry,” Wally whined, looking up at him with big, wide eyes. “I'm hungry.”

Barry blinked and smiled, ruffling his hair as he glanced at the TV. Yeah, he knew what caused Wally's hunger pangs. Commercials were evil. TV was evil for showing food to Speedster viewers. “Well, Iris will be back later, but...” Barry shifted and zoomed into the kitchen, checking all the cabinets before stopping back in front of Wally.

“We need to go shopping,” his uncle told him, looking sad as his stomach rumbled in tune with Wally's. Food = a must.

It's not that they hated shopping for groceries. It's just that they had to act _normal_ while grocery shopping. No speed, no zipping around and getting what they need before zipping out. No, they had to pretend to be _average_. Walk as slow as normal people and shop as slow as normal people _when they're in a store surrounded by food._

The two tried to eat at the Watchtower or Mount Justice as often as possible. There was always a steady stream of free food there. They weren't immune to the whispers and laughs about their eating too much, but between those idiotic remarks and their stomachs, their stomachs won out in importantness. It's not like those idiots would taste good anyways.

When they wanted a meal in private where they could eat as much as they liked with no outside comments, they ate at home. Wally's aunt often cooked but when cooking for Speedsters either he or his uncle helped her in the kitchen. She always made delicious meals (and they tasted way better than food on the Watchtower or at Mount Justice).

Her cooking was the second most important reason they were pulling up outside the grocery store (the first important being pure hunger).

Wally's body ached with hunger and he just wanted to race in there and grab anything he could get his hands on for relief. “Easy, Wally,” Barry said as he heard his nephew's stomach rumble loudly. It was always amusing to see the way Wally would pout when he wanted food. Barry was sure that he looked the same.

They entered the market with two buggies. Hey – they needed _a lot_ of food and one just wouldn't cut it. Wally grumbled about hunger pains and having to shop so slowly.

They both pointedly ignored the protein bars. They did _not_ want to compare their normal protein bars with grocery store grade ones. They bought theirs online, in bulk from a company that focused on cheapness instead of taste. Wally and Barry both agreed about the chocolate ones tasting like chalk. At least they were cheap.

“More pasta?” Barry gave him a look that said 'duh!' That obviously meant more potatoes too. And rice. Those were the three most filling dishes. Starches were common household “food groups” for Speedsters. They didn't mind much. They sometimes wished they could simply enjoy filling up on cheese and crackers with some diced veggies and dip on the side, but it would take a lot of those for Speedsters and it was costly.

“Pizza?” His uncle held out a cheap pizza mix that made Wally frown. “No, I thought not,” Barry told himself, feeling as his nephew did about cheap pizza mixes that tended to make small, edible pizzas that did _not_ taste as good as the kind they got cheap for a big “party deal” (not that they ever had a party – twenty pizzas and it was only for two Speedsters).

“Uncle Barry, can we get cookies?” Wally looked longingly at a 2 for $5 deal on Oreos. Barry looked over at what he was staring at. “Sure, kid. Make sure you get the Mint kind too for your Aunt,” he said, thinking about stealing some himself.

They passed the fresh fruit section, longingly looking at some of the fresh fruit. It would take a lot of fruit to fill them up. Barry looked at Wally with big eyes. “Please…?” Wally groaned. “Fine. But you get to explain to Aunt Iris why we're getting four watermelons and three bags of apples.” Barry winced but helped Wally put the fruit in one of the buggies.

After the fruit, they loaded up on potatoes with two bags of red potatoes and three of Idaho potatoes. “Grab some of the broccoli too. Maybe… eight heads?” Wally's head zipped to meet his uncle's eyes with a hopeful look. “Cheesy broccoli casserole?” Barry grinned. “Duh!” Oh they were looking forward to that. Iris made the best cheesy broccoli casserole.

Cheese, like most dairy products, was expensive. That didn't stop them from buying several packages of Colby Jack and Monterey Cheese, as well as two bags of shredded cheddar cheese. They also got four packs of American sliced cheese, because what was a triple decker sandwich without cheese? Nothing.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Wally jumped up and down in excitement as they passed the frozen desserts. “Look Uncle Barry!” He pointed to a section in the ice cream. “They got S'mores ice cream!” Wally turned to look at his uncle with big, doe eyes. “Pleaseee~?” Barry held out for exactly .0005 seconds before he caved with a small smile. “Fine. Get two.”

And then they came to the bakery/Subway and they both lost it. The smell of freshly baked bread was just too much for anyone to stand. With a hungry Wally, it would've been literal torture to just leave without getting a fresh sandwich. Well, three. Each. Two meatball subs, two Italian chickens, and two roast beef and salami.

Wally couldn't stop drooling over the bag of fresh sandwiches at the check-out. Even Barry was struggling to maintain his sanity with the thought of those sandwiches just sitting in the buggie as they put everything on the scanner. The lady gave them a weird look when both of their stomachs growled as loud as a lion in the wild. Barry blushed, looking embarrassed and managing to stutter out, “We haven't eaten yet, today. Since yesterday.”

The total was beyond insane. They always got wide eyes and jaws dropped when their shopping trips went into the hundreds. They always thanked Batman for setting aside their little Speedster portions. At least _he_ knew that Speedsters were liable to make mistakes in the field when they were hungry (and Barry might've pestered him about the lack of flavor of their protein bars – sue him, they suck).

Barry and Wally both breathed a sigh of relief as they loaded up the car and returned the buggies. This week's grocery shopping was over. They'd have to eat on the Watchtower for the next week so as not to rouse too much suspicion on how much they tended to grocery shop, but it was worth it. At least they'd have some of Iris' delicious cooking for this week.

Their sandwiches were eaten before they even got the car started, but it left them both feeling satisfied. Both Speedsters hummed with joy as both their stomachs _and_ their taste buds enjoyed the sandwiches. Grocery shopping was a pain, but at least it came with some yummy treats at the end.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is today's "24".  
> Finally a light-hearted work to add to the Speedster series. Last few were just dark. This time, nothing bad happened to Wally (Yay!)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed~!


End file.
